The evolvement of Business-to-Business (B2B) communication created a demand for implementation of Ethernet networks in market niches that require communication over distances that are longer than conventional distances associated with local-are-network (LAN) applications for which Ethernet was originally conceived. Bit-rate requirements have also increased in view of such demand thus creating a demand for Gigabit Ethernet networks that operate over synchronous communication networks, with 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks being currently under development.
Various companies have developed integrated circuits that are intended to perform various functions in Gigabit Ethernet networks. For example, in an Internet publication dated Jan. 31, 2001, CoreE1 Microsystems describes its CS-1002 implementation of Gigabit Ethernet auto negotiation function for its 1000B-X Corecell device. In another Internet publication dated Jan. 31, 2001, CoreE1 Microsystems describes its CS-1003 core for flow control for its full duplex mode Corecell device.
Some aspects of technologies and related art are described in the following publications:
a contribution T1X1.5/2000-157R1 dated Jul. 10-14, 2000 of Lucent Technologies to the T1 Standards Project—T1X1.5 which proposes a justification for a variable bandwidth allocation (VBA) methodology for SONET virtually concatenated SPEs (SPE—Synchronous Payload Envelope);
a contribution T1X1.5/1999-098 dated Apr. 9, 1999 of Lucent Technologies to the T1 Standards Project—T1X1.5 which describes higher order SONET virtual concatenation;
a contribution T1X1.5/2000-199 dated Oct. 9–13, 2000 of Lucent Technologies to the T1 Standards Project—T1X1.5 which describes a proposed link capacity adjustment scheme (LCAS) for SONET virtually concatenated SPEs;
an article entitled “FPGAs Deliver Key Stages For 10-Gbit Ethernet”, by Ray Weiss in Electronic Design, Jan. 22, 2001, pp. 41–42; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,990 to Deb et al that describes methods and apparatus for processing packet data received from a physical layer.
The disclosures of all references mentioned above and throughout the present specification are hereby incorporated herein by reference.